Food

CULVER CITY, Calif. – Phil Lempert is flummoxed. The supermarket guru and marketing expert is only 5 feet into the produce department of his local supermarket, and already he has found four foods that defy his attempts to answer a simple question: Is this from the United States?

When it comes to the noodle dishes of Thailand, Pad Thai is among the best loved. For Pad Thai fans, that distinctive sweet, sour, spicy and salty flavor is worth the drive to the nearby Thai restaurant for take out. Since I've moved to Coeur d'Alene, however, take-out Pad Thai hasn't been an option. The closest Thai restaurants are in Spokane and Sandpoint. And while two Thai restaurants are slated to open in Coeur d'Alene in the coming months, well, I can't wait.

It may go head-to-head with ketchup as America's favorite condiment, but that doesn't make finding a great tomato salsa easy. For starters, don't look in the jarred food section. If you want great salsa, the sort that bursts with the flavors of chunky tomatoes, vibrant cilantro, pungent garlic and the tingling heat of jalapeño, you're going to have to head to the produce section or your local farmers' market.

Salad and kids in the same kitchen? Absolutely. A trip to the farmers' market for a selection of fresh peas, carrots, spinach, bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy, green onions, green beans, and even the bizarre-looking but tasty kohlrabi is the perfect family outing on a summer morning. Mom or Dad can drink a latte while the kids chug strawberry lemonade. Take a few moments to talk to the growers, introducing them to your children. Then, head back home to the kitchen for a salad bar lunch or snack. Children can be surprisingly daring in their vegetable consumption if they've had a hand in choosing the food, connect it with someone interesting, and are offered tasty dips alongside. Parents who eat lots of veggies without making a big deal about it can be quietly persuasive as well. Other parents tend to hate me if I tell them how my son requested some salad at age 3 after watching his father and I eat salad with our dinner regularly for a couple of years. Believe me, we were surprised, too. We had never offered him any, figuring salad was a grown-up thing.

Here's how to solve your chicken-grilling problems: Flatten your fowl. Thanks to barbecue cookbook guru Steven Raichlen and other barbecue innovators, we now have two almost foolproof methods for grilling chicken breasts. Both involve emphasizing the horizontal.

On your next road trip … Do not succumb to one of those dried-out logs of meat spinning 'round and 'round at the gas station.¶ Do not feel as though you have no choice but to shovel a fast-food burger in your sweltering car.¶ Do not make a lunch of Chick-O-Sticks, beef jerky and sunflower seeds (unless you really want to, of course).¶ There's good food in them thar hills. You just have to look for it.¶ And we're here to help. Here's a by-no-means-comprehensive smattering of restaurants, markets and other shops that may be off your beaten path and along your way to someplace else in the Inland Northwest.¶ Some are hidden gems, others are more well-known. But all are worth a stop to fill your stomach before you hit the road again.¶ Or, depending on your taste, they're destinations in and of themselves, and a good excuse to get out and explore the region's small towns.¶ If we forgot any of your favorites, which we undoubtedly did, let us know via the contact information at the end of the story and we'll consider a future article. Cowgirl Chocolates